### U.S.Departmentof Transportation Assistant Secretary Office ofthe Secretary ofTransportation 

## APR 

## 0. 7 l:014
Mr. Dan C. Quigley Interim President Oakland Metropolitan Chamber ofCommerce 475 14th Street Oakland, CA 94612 DearMr. Quigley: 1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E. Washington, DC 20590

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### Thankyou for your letterto Secretary ofTransportation Anthony Foxx, supporting the application ofSouthwestAirlines (Southwest) for two within-perimeter slotexemptions at Ronald Reagan WashingtonNational Airport (DCA). Southwest proposes to serve Kansas City International Airport with one nonstop round trip per day from DCA. SecretaryFoxx asked that I respond to you onhisbehalf. Wereceived Southwest's application on March 25, 2014. Other timely applications were received from JetBlue Airways, proposing one nonstop round trip to Jacksonville, Florida; from American Airlines, proposing one nonstop round trip to Islip, New York, and; from People Express Airlines, proposing one nonstop round trip on a seasonal basis to eachMyrtle Beach, South Carolina (April-October) and West PalmBeach, Florida (October-April). As the matter is still pending, I cannot comment on the merits ofthe points raised inyour letter. However, I can assure youthat all applications received bythe U.S. Departmentof Transportation will be given due and careful consideration. The Department's action onthis matter is being administered through a public docket, which allows all interestedparties the opportunityto comment. Following ournormal practice, I am placing a copy ofyour letter and this response in docket number DOT-OST-2000-7182. I appreciate your interest inthis matter. Sincerely yours,

Susan 

### L. Kurland Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs

# ND
March 21, 2014 METROPOLITAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Serving the Business Community Since 1905 The Honorable Anthony Foxx Secretary ofTransportation U.S. Department ofTransportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. Washington, DC 20590 Re: Within-Perimeter Slot Exemptions at Washington National Airport (DCA) Docket No: DOT-OST-2000-7182 Dear Secretary Foxx: On behalfof**the~**Oakland**MetropoHtan~Gbamberof** Commerce,Jw.riteto express strong support of Southwest Airlines' (Southwest's) application for a pair of slot exemptions at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). With these two "within-perimeter" slot exemptions, Southwest proposes to continue operating a daily nonstop flight between DCA and Kansas City International Airport (MCI) and add same-plane through-service to/from Oakland International Airport (OAK) beginning in January 2015. Southwest has been a major part ofthe Oakland community since 1989. Forthe past 25 years, both Southwest and OAK have grown and prospered. OAK is the second-largest airport in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area, which has a population of 7 million people. Expansion of service from OAK drives business growth and visitor growth forthe Bay Area and especially for Oakland and the East Bay. Today, Southwest continues to be the largest airline operating at OAK, with 97 daily departures to 18 cities, including Kansas City. However, despite OAK's growth over the years, it has no direct flights to DCA because of DCA's 1250-mile perimeter rule. In fact, OAK is the largest airport in the United States without direct service to/from DCA As a result, current travel options between OAK and DCA are limited, inconvenient, and relatively expensive. Southwest's proposal would provide a convenient travel option between OAK and the Washington DC region, as well as stimulate air traffic in an underserved airline market. For these reasons, I respectfully request the Department ofTransportation to grant a pair of slot exemptions to Southwest so it can begin same-plane DCA-MCI-OAK air service. Thank you in advance for your consideration ofthis request.



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